The next morning . . .
Orphen woke up slowly and blinked his eyes to adjust them to the dimly lit temple. His cloak covered the lower half of his naked body, but all other traces of last night were gone . . . including me.
He got up and looked around, clutching the only piece of clothing tightly around himself.
"Oh, don't tell me she just left me here," he grumbled.
Going to the entrance of the temple, the blinding sunlight streaking through the forest told him that the day was already well underway, but how was he going to get back to the village?
THUNK
Majic blinked his eyes open and turned toward the window, still half asleep.
THUNK
He got up from the little bed with mussed up covers and opened the window, peering outside to see what was making that sound.
"Psst! Majic! Down here!"
The young blonde looked straight down and saw Orphen hiding behind a bush.
"Master? What are you doing down there? And how come you don't have any clothes on?"
"I can't explain right now; just go get me my pack."
Just as his apprentice threw it over the sill, a voice interrupted and made both boys panic.
"Hey Majic, are you awake?"
"Yes, yes I am, Miss Clio!" he speedily replied as he turned to face the door.
"What are you doing by the window?"
"Oh, I was just, uh, enjoying the beautiful day outside."
"O.k. – why don't I join you?"
"No, no! You don't have to! Why don't we, uh, go look for Master? He hasn't come back since the festival, and I'm getting worried about him."
"I know; I didn't see Orphen at all last night either. He probably got drunk and slept in a gutter somewhere. Come on, then; let's go."
Two pairs of footsteps left the room, and as soon as the door was closed, a certain brunette apparated through the open window and finished changing. Once decent, he went out of the house and found his companions searching through the bushes he had just left.
"There you are, Master! We've been looking all over for you!"
"I'm fine, I'm fine; just a little tired."
"You shouldn't just take off on your own, Orphen, especially when you don't tell anyone where you're going and then disappear all night."
"I can take care of myself, Clio. Stop worrying so much."
"Well, you're supposed to be helping Ria with her mission, and you can't do that while you're off doing who knows what," she scolded.
"By the way, have either of you seen her?"
"No, why?"
"Sh-she said she needed to talk to me about something, but I can't find her," he mumbled to the ground.
"Uh-huh," Clio muttered suspiciously.
"What? Why are you staring at me like that?"
"You only care about finding other people when it's in your best interest, and we just met her 2 days ago. So what did you do?"
"What are you talking about, Clio? I didn't do anything."
"Right; and Majic is a troll."
"I am not!"
"That's exactly my point! You're just trying to hide something and I know it, so just confess already! Don't make me use Lucky."
The adorable blue cub poked its head out the window at the sound of its name.
"Look, if you're not going to help me, then I'll search elsewhere, alright? I don't need to answer your ridiculous questions."
He turned and started to walk off.
"Just tell us what's wrong! It's not like you slept with her or anything!"
That stopped the cringing brunette dead in his tracks. She gasped with wide eyes.
Silence loomed as the teen sorcerer resumed walking.
"You DID sleep with her! How could you do such a thing, especially at a time like this?!" she practically shrieked as she ran and caught up with him.
"Wow, Master – you said you were a lady's man, but this is something else," said Majic as he came up on the other side.
"Will you both just back off already?! Quit nosing into my business!" he growled.
"But Orphen, this is serious. This was done completely out of wedlock and you may have even gotten her pregnant!"
"I think that's what she wanted."
I found it at last.
A single gigantic boulder was the only thing blocking my way, but I could easily take care of that. As I positioned my arms and mentally summoned a levitating spell, a dark shaft suddenly flew out of a bush and barely missed my head. I ducked out of reflex and quickly tried to spot my attacker, but nothing else moved. Then an ugly snake-like demon with legs leaped into the air right at me, too soon for me to defend.
"Don't even think about it!" a familiar voice rang out.
A white flash destroyed the Bode while it was still in mid-air, and I took a step back to assess the situation. That's when Orphen and his friends appeared as if right on cue, and I became confused because this was not a part of my plans.
"How did you find me?" I asked, bewildered.
"That's for us to know. Now why did you leave me back at that temple?"
"I didn't think you would actually fight Cardan with me, so I set out alone. I apologize for that."
"But when we said we would help you we meant it!" exclaimed Majic.
"I understand that you made a promise, but Cardan is more complicated than you think, which is why it's better if I do this alone."
"That's where you're wrong."
Orphen stepped closer until we were face to face, bringing back memories of our wonderful night together.
"Look - you don't have to do this by yourself. Last night, you proved to me that life is better with another person, especially when they're connected."
He placed a hand on my flat stomach.
"So you know, that that's, the true union?"
"Yes, and I don't regret it one bit."
I smiled warmly with teary eyes. Hope burst aflame for my lost cause.
Then he grasped me and held my body against his.
"I've never missed anyone before you, so don't leave me again – please," he murmured into my ear.
"You have my word . . . darling," I whispered back.
When we let go of our embrace, Clio was dabbing her eyes with a tissue from a box that Majic was holding, and even he was emotionally touched.
"That was so beautiful," she almost sobbed.
I could only smile at this joyous turn of events, and we all entered the cavernous tunnel looming before us without another word.
